This course is a basic introduction to the judicial process, with specific emphasis on federal criminal procedure. Students will learn the methods that the government uses to detect, investigate, apprehend, prosecute, convict, and punish criminals. It will cover the most common crimes prosecuted in American courts, including homicide, sexual assault, and theft, and common defenses, including insanity and self-defense. The course will first give an overview of criminal law and the American court system, and will then proceed to go through the constitutional provisions of criminal procedure chronologically as they occur in real life. The criminal justice system depends on the successful handling of evidence, and the last part of the course will emphasize the rules for the admissibility of evidence and the safeguards the Constitution provides for criminal defendants.
3 Credits